


Ex short: Ethereal

by depressed-sock (jinxedragon)



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Villains and Heroes, original characters and world
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-01
Updated: 2019-02-01
Packaged: 2019-10-20 15:42:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17625164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jinxedragon/pseuds/depressed-sock
Summary: A couple of shorts to figure out characters.





	1. Chaos pov

You dodge, taking cover behind a series of boxes just in time to escape the hero’s energy blast. You had, had this perfectly planned heist with no witnesses and now a hero suddenly shows up out of nowhere? You’re going to find whoever snitched and make them regret every moment they’ve ever breathed air.

“You should surrender now,” his voice rings confidently through the warehouse, “They’ll go easy on you if you do.”

You snort in response, he must be new to this. He probably thinks if a villain surrenders they’ll just go to jail, serve their time and reform. The truth is that if they’re a norm they would be sentenced to jail for life and if they’re powered they would be let off with a slap on the wrist if they filled out the right papers. You personally wouldn’t make it halfway to a cell before your powers took over and ‘edited’ events to change the situation entirely.

You wished you had better control over your powers instead of them randomly changing things without your consent but at least the chaos it brings is usually in your benefit. It would be helpful though if your power could maybe make it so hero boy would have never shown up in the first place.…

No? Ugh fine, you’ll do this the hard way.

You don’t bother giving him a response, moving quietly away from him down the lengths of the boxes that are stacked together. Stealth and agility are right now your greatest strengths and best assets. You reach the other side of the boxes, pulling a small metal ball from a pouch in your suit and toss it past the spot you had been hiding behind.

It quietly lands _an impossibility_ and rolls to a stop. You wait a second listening as his footsteps grow closer before snapping your fingers. The ball explodes and you take the opportunity to run as he’s thrown backward from the explosion.

You’re a thief after all and you’re only in this for the money, not the bruises. Besides fighting heroes is a job for other villains, ones who would be pissed if they found you interfering with 'their’ hero. Honestly, some of the other villains you meet are just a bit too obsessive. Luckily this guy feels too new to have caught any of the obsessive villain’s eyes… hopefully.

You find yourself behind another set of boxes by the time he’s back up. You can hear him let out a groan of complaint as he brushes off his suit.

“Shit,” he coughs and you find yourself rolling your eyes. You’ve been through much worse, a little explosion is absolutely nothing. “Was that really necessary?” He calls out, his voice already sounding exasperated.

The more he talks the more it feels like he thinks you’re a child, he’s probably trying to piss you off. You hate to admit that it’s kind of working. You don’t have time for that though, you have what you came for and while this isn’t the perfect heist you had planned, it can still be a success if you escape with it.

“Listen I don’t know who you are or why you’re doing this but what you have can mean the life and death of a lot of people,” he’s trying to get you to sympathize but you already know exactly how valuable what you hold is. You know exactly whose life is more valuable to you and it’s none of the people he’s thinking of.

More steps, more empty pleading for you to surrender to him. He’s weak, is what other villains would say but you’d say he’s smart. The first blast he sent at you was supposed to miss. He doesn’t want to hit you and in turn, hit your prize. And maybe he’s a bit weak too, cares too much for his own good… like you. You wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t decided to care too much but friends are a hard thing to come by in this lifestyle.

Escape is so close and his steps are moving farther away from you. You could chance it and make a run for it. After all, you have the higher chance of whatever happening being in your favor. You take a steadying breathe than you bolt for the exit.

Violet energy suddenly surrounds the door and you find yourself sliding to a stop. You turn and to find the hero hovering inches of the ground the same violet energy swirling around him highlighting his dark form against everything else. It gives him an ethereal and powerful look and suddenly you find yourself very afraid.

You don’t fight or at least you try not to fight anyone who is powered. You’re essentially baseline with the exception of your powers of altering events, but it doesn’t alter a big event until after you’ve experienced it. You’ve died before, experienced pain you never want to again. You know whatever this hero has in store it’s going to hurt.

“Give up,” he commands but you can’t even if this time it ends in pain. You hold the small safe close to your chest. You can live with a little pain.

He doesn’t expect it when you instead turn and jump through the energy that blocks the exit. He might be screaming at you to stop but it sounds distorted, horrific. Or maybe it’s your own screams that you hear, coming out like a garbled screech through your voice distorter. It’s hard to tell when it feels like every single cell in your body suddenly burst into flame.

The energy around you dissipates and you find yourself weak with no energy to continue standing. You fall to your knees, breathing heavily through pained sobs. That was probably the stupidest thing you have ever done.

You can barely hear his steps approaching you, can barely tell when he finally kneels beside you careful not to touch you. Are your powers going to finally kick in? Or does something worse have to happen?

“That was incredibly stupid,” he sighs and you let out a bit of a hysterical chuckle because you completely agree with him. “Someone you know caught it, didn’t they?” He says it softly like he actually cares. Maybe he does, he’s still new. Most new heroes start off idealistic like that.

You don’t respond to him, your mask staring resolutely at the ground. When he reaches for the safe you don’t bother trying to stop him. He takes it and you expect him to knock you unconscious. Maybe if he does everything will finally change.

He doesn’t though, instead he uses his powers to laser the lock off and opens the safe. You look up at him confused. _What is he doing?_ He reaches in taking two vials of the serum out and holds them out to you.

“Why?” You ask because every single hero you have met would have already knocked you out or hurt you more. A few would have immediately killed you.

“It’s the right thing to do,” his smile is kind, his eyes still hold a warmth you’ve seen many other heroes lose. You reach out and take the vials, letting him help you stand.

“I hope you still think that later in life,” you say because that’s the closest thing to a thank you he’ll ever get from you.


	2. Etheral's pov

“Corwin!” Monarch’s graveled voice reaches you just as you’re about to leave. You turn to find her weathered kind face looking at you worriedly. “You do understand how important this is, right?”

“Of course,” you say softly, thousands of lives depend on you being able to procure the cure to Virukus’s deadly virus that he’s spread to thousands. People were dying and you needed to step up and help them. “I’ve gotten a tip that it’s at a warehouse just a little way out of the city,” you neglect to add that someone else was going for the cure as well. A villain probably trying to make money off of peoples suffering. It makes you sick, that these people so willingly hurt and kill others.

“Just be safe,” she places a hand on your shoulder, her words washing over you like a command you have to obey.

You frown at her, you hate when she does this, “Monarch-”

“Just take it… Ethereal,” she pats your shoulder, “You’ve got to obey your leader anyway.” She turns, cane in hand as she limps away. The oldest member of Escutcheon, and despite appearances you know she’s still healthy enough to kick your ass if you don’t obey her command. You sigh in frustration turning to finally leave, you’ve got people to save.

…

The darkened figure dodges your attack easily, sliding to take cover behind a group of boxes. They’ve got the cure, Shit, you need to watch your shots more carefully. It makes you angry how selfish a person could be; if they steal that cure how many will die? Do they even care that innocent people are suffering? _Calm_ , you need to remain calm to think through this clearly.

“You should surrender now,” your voice echoes through the warehouse and you flinch slightly back, no use trying to hide your position then, “They’ll go easy on you if you do.” Even as you say it you feel the guilt build up. You know that’s not fully true but what else can you do? You can advocate for them at least like you’ve done with many of the villains who have surrendered to you… Some of which you’re still trying to find who got lost in a disorganized mess of paperwork.

You walk forward towards the boxes, trying to stay aware of your surroundings. No matter what you need to make sure they don’t escape with the cure. _**Sometimes you have to do whatever it takes**_ , Sunburst’s words echo in your head, the image of them standing over the body of a villain, _it was just a kid_. You stop just a second closing your eyes, it won’t ever come to that. You take a breath and start walking again. You won’t be like him, you won’t let your anger toward the villains that cause harm color your view of the ones who don’t, that was the vow you took that day.

You will stop villains who need to be stopped and you will do your best to help the ones who need and want help. You’ve seen so many people turning to villainy to support themselves, to support their families. You’ve also seen people turn to it because they like hurting others, they care for nothing but what they could do for themselves. That kind of thinking disgusts you.

Your about to turn the corner when a loud snap resonates through the warehouse followed by an explosion, _non-lethal?_ You just barely have time to throw your energy to shield you from the blast that throws you back, knocking your breath away. Your ears ring but you can hear the footsteps that echo as they run to a different cover. _Shit, which way?_ There are two exits… they’re probably heading the way you entered.

You cough as smoke fills your lungs, “Shit… Was that really necessary?” you call out exasperated because this is starting to feel more like a game of hide and seek with explosions rather than a fight with a villain. Which is leading you to the conclusion that this person is most definitely not one of your usual villains, they’re most likely doing this for a payday. They might not even know exactly what they hold.

You stand up brushing the dust off your suit, maybe you can get them to sympathize with you. “Listen I don’t know who you are or why you’re doing this but what you have can mean the life and death of a lot of people.” The warehouse echoes with your voice before falling completely silent. You can’t work with someone if they don’t respond. “Please, thousands of lives are on the line!”

You start to walk away from where you think they want to go, silently throwing an unactivated energy barrier over the doorway. Whatever happens, they won’t escape that way at least. “I get it you’re probably in this for the money but are really going to value a few hundred dollars over innocent lives? Please just surrender the safe.” You feel like your words are just being swallowed by an empty void. They’re not going to listen to you, they’re not going to care who they hurt. The anger grows and you can feel your energy start to swirl around you unbidden.

 You will stop them, you have to stop them. You hear the quick steps behind you and you turn to fully activate the barrier. Violet energy lights up the warehouse highlighting a hooded figure with an intricate mask. They slide to a stop in front of the blocked doorway, turning to find you as your energy flares fully to life as your anger grows.

“Give up,” you command giving them one final chance. They take a slight step back pulling the safe deeper into their embrace. They look slightly back at the blocked doorway then back at you. There’s no escape they have too- They fully turn and dive into the barrier letting out a horrific screech of pain that deafens you as you try to call out for them to stop.

_You flash back to another time of Sunburst sending a killing shot through the kid. How he was so proud of it. The absolute disgust you felt towards him._

 You quickly dissipate the barrier and they fall weakly to their knees. No no no, why would they do that? That is so completely and utterly stupid to do for some money- Unless it’s not for money… They had to be doing this for a reason, no one would risk themselves like that for a payday, they must know someone who’s affected by the virus.

Their pained sobs are distorted but you can make it out well enough to know they’re in an insurmountable amount of pain. They put themselves through that to escape with the cure. You couldn’t even name ten other heroes who would have done that. You kneel gently beside them and they immediately flinch away. “That was incredibly stupid,” you let out a sigh and they respond with an almost hysterical chuckle like they absolutely agree with you. You’re going to have to make a choice here. “Someone you know caught it, didn’t they?” you ask softly and they resolutely remain silent looking down and away from you, arms wrapping a bit tighter around the safe.

They’re just another person trying to survive in this world, trying to look out for someone they care about. You reach out for the safe and they don’t fight you. They can’t fight you. Their fists tighten and their body stiffens waiting for an attack. Their reaction hurts you more than it should, you can tell they’ve fought other heroes. _What did they do to you?_ Do you really want to know? Were they like Sunburst? You had thought that he was an outlier, a fluke that somehow earned his place among you but what if there are more?

You make a choice. You turn the safe in your hands, cutting the lock off with your powers and open the safe. They’re watching you as you remove two vials of the cure and hand it to them. That should be enough for one person and if need be to synthesize more.

“Why?’ comes a broken and garbled voice.

 “It’s the right thing to do,” you smile at them trying to convey that you do honestly care. They reach out, grabbing the vials and they let you help them stand. They slightly tilt a bit as they stand but quickly find their balance.

“I hope you still think that later in life,” they say before taking off into the dark. You hope so as well.


End file.
